White’s Chicken is one of those restaurants I rarely hear or even talk about, being kind of lost. The marquee sign has always said “Delivery” in those small black block letters, with the iconic red arrow pointing towards the entrance. I had never eaten at White’s Chicken in my city ever, that is until today for some special reason. The food there, especially the main course chicken, is very authentic and fresh, maybe even more so than KFC. It’s an old restaurant, dating back to the early 20th century, and has been on that same corner for as long as I can remember, right across from the Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s a small and modest eatery, seating only about twenty with the kitchen area behind the service counter in plain view. The only other time I went into that place was to get a job application. I’m surprised that this place is still in business with it looking so down and empty all the time (according to my eyes) but they also have catering which helps bring in a lot more money.

The place is mainly served by one waitress, who today looked like she would have to work two jobs in order to make enough money to make ends meet.

White’s isn’t ancient but it may as well be with it being stuck in a perpetual time warp of the early progressive era. The walls and decor clearly scream 1920s.

The Big Boy restaurant in my town has closed. It was an iconic landmark that has been in that one spot for over 50 years. Now there is a dilemma as to where to eat out now. So many restaurants are closing, including the Old Country Buffet that seemed to be a staple of Sunday mornings for as long as I could remember. Times are changing and this town is getting deader and deader. Time to move on I guess. It’s not like I ate at Big Boy much anyway. Maybe for a Sundae or small meal but not much else.

The French fry is not at all a French thing. The name comes from either the Irish term for cutting the fries, “to french”, or from the American allies who, when they landed in the Belgian Ardennes, tasted the incomparable fried potatoes and called them “French fries”, French for the language …

Denny’s really did a dumb thing today and now they are in for a talking. They did something that has made me question the integrity of their operation as a whole, at least the one I was at.

For my dad’s 55th birthday today, we went to Denny’s for breakfast AND a second time for lunch, followed by Finley’s. Since he is at the double nickel age, he gets to order off of the senior menu that includes meals at a discount price. Reaching that section of the menu is quite a monumental thing because it means you are on the last leg of your life. It is the final stage of the menu, located on the back. You start off as a kid ordering tiny meals off of the kiddie menu that is provided. Once you get around 12 years old, it is time for the main, adult section that includes meals fit for any big appetite. That will go on a long time until it is time to finally graduate to senior status.

The birthday meal consisting of the four of us went very well until it was time to pay.

Getting up to pay after a hearty meal is not always easy. I feel so full that I can hardly walk, feeling my stomach bulge.

The cashier/manager asked me how my meal went. I of course said it was delicious. He then asked if I would like to leave a tip on my credit card. I simply said “No” because it would be left on the table. I had paid my bill with my credit card and received the receipt. I was getting ready to leave the restaurant with my parents when the waitress said behind my back,”Do you want to have an iced tea to take out?” Of course, I was confused at this. Why would she say that? I had had an iced tea to drink with my Biscuits and Gravy meal; one of them I finished, the other I didn’t, so maybe that was the reason behind this. Still, it was strange because she didn’t seem to realize I was walking out of the building when she asked, and it was asked in an offhand matter, with she not even looking up. She also sounded out of it.

That was just the start of the weirdness that ensued.

As we were leaving the restaurant and going to the car, the manager of the restaurant stepped outside, in the freezing cold, and said that one of us hadn’t paid their bill yet. It was eventually me he was referring to. He seemed rather nervous and panicky. We went back inside and tried to sort out this bit of confusion. It seemed as if the waitress had gotten the receipts mixed up at the table and one of us paid for the wrong thing. They accused me of walking out without paying, which was definitely false. An argument broke out among the waitress and the manager, trying to fix everything. This isn’t the first time an issue with the bill has occurred.

Anyway, my dad was going to call the corporate office and complain about this inconvenience. The manager should not have to step outside of the restaurant and demand we all come back in. That is just rude and disrespectful. He tried calling but no one was available, so he was going to try again tomorrow. I believe it is a little too much to call up the corporate headquarters in Spartanburg, South Carolina just to complain about a minor issue like this. Sure, it may be discriminating and singling someone like me out who can act a bit peculiar at times, but it is done and no one is hurt. I’m still proud that he sticks up for me like that.

My god, I’m starting to feel old when I look at that number about five times. It’s starting to sink in though but I don’t want to get too used to it, still want to believe future birthdays will still have that “special” feeling about them.

The good news is I get to live another year and do so much more amazing things. The bad news is I’m nearly halfway to 30. Yikes! Where is time going?

My first picture at 24. My stylish driving cap.

I happen to be sharing my 24th birthyear with the retirement year of NASCAR Sprint Cup legend Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 car. How are the odds that I would coincide with such a big moment? All my life, I’ve been pushed and prodded to be a fan of Jeff Gordon and the number 24 so happens to be a magical number of continuance and ending this year.

A red eyed crane hanging outside Denny’s today. They must come from the nearby woods and get attracted by the smell of the food cooking in the restaurant. You’re not getting any food, pesky cranes. Go home. Well, they did eventually after we finished dining.I’ve seen these long legged creatures walking around this restaurant’s front grass multiple times. They were also hanging out in a Wendy’s parking lot on “Asian Friday” last week – a bunch of Chinese and Japanese looking people were all in line at Wendy’s and eating at the tables. Like they were all in a group or something. Very confusing and strange, no offense. We eventually left because the line wasn’t getting any shorter, the counter workers having difficulty understanding the foreign languages/accents.

They can fly, but I’ve never seen them do so

We were all seated near the “crane window” on the right side of the restaurant, a place we rarely, if ever, eat. Our waitress, Jasmine, took our drinks (all waters except Joe with a Coke). My meal was set to be all free if it was under seven dollars. So I ordered a $6 Baja Quesadilla burger with chips and salsa. Very delicious.

After this early dinner, we rode in the Ford to Culver’s and I ordered a free dish of vanilla icecream with Reese’s peanut butter cup chunks on top. Didn’t have to show my ID to prove it was my birthday, probably because it was really busy. Wondered if others could get away with this.

Tomorrow, my birthday bash continues. Going out to eat at Sava’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I’ve never been there but my research online about it makes it out to be a fine restaurant that students and adults both appreciate. One reason I am choosing this place is because meals are affordable there, most of them under $25, and another reason is because it seems more special to go to a place with a fancy name and dark, elegant environment.

And now I dedicate a poem to the hungry cranes outside the window:

Hungry Cranes

I could see that you were hungry, salivating,

Waiting outside that tempered glass

Watching us drink, watching us eat,

Our delicious meals come to pass

Your legs were spindly, your feathers down thick,

Traipsing the land wide and far,

Attracted to human dwellings,

Full of the happy, sad, and sick

You stopped in for a meal but could not get inside,

So loitered on the outside, the flavorful smells licking your eyes

Curious I was about your whereabouts,

Where you came from, your really long mouths

After our delicious meal, I turned and was surprised

To see that you disappeared, probably to bother some other guys

We’ll be sure to meet again,

You weird necked birds of ostrich type,

In the parking lot, in the park,

Maybe wherever the aroma smells just right

And now a song I’m dedicating to my birthday, inspired by watching Star Trek: Enterprise for the first time today on Netflix and hearing the amazing intro song. I believe it really fits the theme of where I am heading in the future, what sort of person I want to be in 20, 30 years. “I’ve got faith” it sings. That’s what I want to have years from now, to always have hope to accomplish my dreams and never give up on life. It’s essentially a song of life, describing how far I’ve come in 24 years.

Nancy Merrill’s photo a week challenge today asked for photographs that fill the entire frame or at least dominate as the main subject. I last did one of her challenges back in March and this kind of serves as a supplement to the Weekly Photo Challenge.

For my mother’s birthday this year in August, we all went to Finley’s, a favorite restaurant to go for special occasions in my hometown. The last time we were there, a redheaded waitress got pissed off at us for not leaving her a tip – and the service was very good. The next day when I was in the college library, her d-bag boyfriend saw me and stopped me to ask if I would give him the tip money to give to his girlfriend. And no, I did not give him any money because he was acting very mean and demanding. I left the library in a reluctant behavior.

Now, dad said I could order anything I wanted off the menu since he was paying for it. Well, not to take too big advantage of this apparent loophole statement and break his wallet, I ordered a $15 shrimp and lobster mac & cheese dish besides the $20 succulent lobster. I expected it to be a small dish that wouldn’t take me long to eat. Was I wrong. It was at least 3 inches thick of juicy shrimp and lobster and a yummy, cheesy base of the best macaroni I’ve ever tried. Topped with a delicious mixture of Parmesan cheese, Italian spices, and breadcrumbs.

This was a dish I had to take home in a box. There was just so much there to eat and it was really filling but probably the best dish I’ve ever had in a restaurant. Luckily, I always have my camera with me in case I want to get delicious pictures of my meals in restaurants. Maybe I should start a food journal.